Secret Admirer - An RC9GN Fanfic
by President ORB
Summary: When Randy gets a love note from a secret admirer, it's no big deal. But when Heidi finds out and it goes viral, Randy has to deal with way too many interested parties getting in the way of his Ninja duties. But what happens when he gets another note, and the secret admirer KNOWS he's the Ninja? It's a race to find out who it is and stop them from spilling the beans! Please R&R!
1. Chapter 1: WTJ

**Secret Admirer – An RC9GN Fanfic**

**Chapter One: WTJ**

**Word Count: 831**

**Warnings: None this Chapter**

* * *

**I don't own any rights to Randy Cunningham: Ninth Grade Ninja, and I never will. I'm sure of it. Don't sue me. I'll just sue you right back. I have my attorney on speed-dial.**

**No, really, I do.**

**Anyway, TO THE STORY!**

* * *

Tuesday had been mostly uneventful. No monster attacks. No homework due in any of his classes (that almost never happens!). And this was also the second day in a row that Heidi Wienerman had nothing to report on her gossip blog. Tuesday was very boring, to say the least.

Once Randy had met up with Howard at his locker after school, they decided that they should try to end this day as eventfully as possible, but what were they supposed to do?

"We could always head over to the Game Hole," Randy suggested, opening his locker to put his books in his bag. Howard shook his head,

"Nu-uh, Cunningham. I'm not gonna wait around while you brag about your high scores the whole time. Why don't we go down to the pier and see if we can pick up chicks, or something?"

Randy made a face. For whatever reason, he'd been really "off" when it came to the dating game lately. He didn't know if it was his Ninja duties, or if it was something about puberty, but when it came to dating, he was—for lack of a better term—uninterested. Which didn't so much worry him as disappoint him?

"Uhh…I don't know," he replied, "Maybe…maybe we'll think of something else to do if we head down there, though?"

"That's the spirit!" Howard smirked, "And we can grab some snacks while we're down there, too…"

Randy shoved his algebra book behind the Nomicon and zipped up his bag, but when he went to close his locker, he noticed a note sticking to the inside of the door. Staring at it curiously, he plucked it off the door and opened it.

"What's that?" Howard asked, seeing Randy staring at the piece of notebook paper in his hands. Randy just looked down the words on the page. What was this? What _was_ this?

"It's a love letter," Randy replied in a dry tone.

Howard laughed loudly, snatching it out of his hand,

"What the juice? Are you _serious_?!" he shouted, "No way! Who would send _you_ a love letter?!"

Randy glared down at his best friend, but he figured he had a point. For all it was worth, Randy was pretty much invisible at this school. But that's just because they were freshmen…right?

"Does it say who it's from?" Randy murmured curiously. Howard scanned the paper, flipping it over, but he just shrugged.

"I don't see anyone's name but yours on here. Guess it's a secret admirer!"

_'Oh, joy…'_ Randy rolled his eyes. He couldn't help but feel weird about the fact that this really didn't interest him AT ALL. He should be excited about this, right? He was almost 15; he should totally be dating somebody by now, right?

"How much you wanna bet this is fake?" Howard chuckled, "Like, it's some kind of prank? 'Cause, come on,_no one_ in their right mind is gonna send something as mushy as this to _you_, buddy."

Randy felt a smirk spread across his lips,

"Yeah, sure," he remarked, "you're just jealous because _you_ don't have a secret admirer!"

He grabbed the letter back from Howard and looked it over again. It _was_ rather mushy. But if it was just a prank, that'd be so much better. Nobody to confront, nobody to awkwardly turn down, just somebody getting a quick laugh.

"Yeah, yeah, eat it up, Cunningham," Howard retorted, "You don't even know who it is! It could be Flute Girl, for all you know!"

Randy rolled his eyes, a little more voluntarily this time, and closed his locker, pulling his backpack over his shoulder again.

"I don't really _care_ who it is, Howard," he told him, shoving the paper ungracefully into his pocket.

"Oh, you say that now," Howard pointed a finger up at his face, "but once you find out, you're gonna be wishing you never saw it!"

Randy stared down the finger in his face that Howard refused to move until he had to pick up a hand to move it for him.

"Like I said," he replied, "I don't care. But it would be good to find out who sent it, right?"

Howard laughed,

"Heck yeah—let's go all P.I. on this case and figure out the 'mystery of the love letter.' I bet we'd find your secret admirer before school ends tomorrow!"

They made their way towards the exit, Randy shaking his head at Howard's ideas. Finding out who sent the note would be a good idea, but he only wanted to know to either confirm it was just a prank, or figure out how to let the person down gently. He felt guilty enough that someone went out of their way to tell him their feelings in a mildly-creepy way, but if he could get the problem solved right away, he'd feel better again, right?

_'Yeah, let's go with that.'_

* * *

**Please tell me that wasn't as bad as I think it is?**


	2. Chapter 2: Blabbermouth

**Secret Admirer**

**Chapter Two: Blabbermouth**

**Word Count: 1,755**

**Warnings: None this Chapter**

* * *

Howard rubbed his chin in thought,

"What about...you use your ninja stealth to wait for them to put another note in your locker, and when they show up, you go back to normal, boring Cunningham and confront them face-to-face!" He suggested, pumping his fist into the air, "BOOM! Romance!"

Randy glared at his best friend. Howard had been at this all morning, and having dealt with it enough the night before, he was beyond tired of Howard's pointless ideas.

"How about... _no_?" He replied, not the least bit amused, "That's a stupid idea because we don't know if this person is gonna send another note, and if they were, we don't know when to stick around and wait for them?!"

Howard chuckled,

"They are _totally_ going to leave another note. That's what secret admirers do, Cunningham."

Randy rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest,

"Okay, if that were actually true, which it's not, _when _would they leave the note? Hmm?"

Howard smirked,

"Before school starts. Duh. Do you know nothing about romance?"

Randy continued to glare at him,

"If you know that, then why'd the note show up in my locker _after _school yesterday, and not any time before that?"

Howard chuckled like the answer was obvious,

"Well..." he blinked, "obviously, they are just mixing it up a bit and-OW! Don't hit me!"

Randy curled his fist at his side, more than ready to punch him in the shoulder again.

"Just shut up and help me think of an actual _good_ idea, Howard."

"If you don't like my ideas, why don't you just come up with your own?" Howard grumbled, rubbing his shoulder.

"Because," Randy groaned, "you know I don't know anything about-"

Howard's sly smirk made him stop.

"It's not funny."

Howard broke out in a full grin,

"Oh, it is _so_ funny, dude!" And with that, he quickly broke into giggles.

"What are you laughing about?"

Howard turned to see his sister eyeing him suspiciously. He just laughed harder, and Randy sighed, closing his locker.

"Okay, _seriously_," Heidi turned to Randy, "what's his malfunction?"

Randy shrugged,

"I think a screw came loose," he remarked, shooting a glare as Howard continued to laugh.

"Maybe a few of them, actually..."

Howard stood up straight, trying to hold it in, but it was no use. Heidi just shook her head,

"I don't have time for this. See you, dorks!"

She walked past them and left to go to class. Randy glanced back at Howard,

"Dude, what is your problem?!" He scowled.

"I just-" Howard snickered, "I got an idea! An awesome idea! Haa!"

Randy rolled his eyes,

"Yeah, and I'm sure it's just as _brilliant_ as all the others..."

He turned, slinging his bag over his shoulder.

"Come on," he told him, "Let's just get to class already."

Howard bit his lip, trying to keep the laughter down.

"W-where'd my sis go?" He asked through a strangled chuckle.

"She went that way," Randy pointed down the hall with his thumb, but just as he did, Howard took off in that direction, leaving him to trek to his first class alone.

_'Gee, thanks, Howard. You sure are a _big _help.'_

* * *

Class started as boring as usual, except Howard was about fifteen minutes late. He decided to 'entertain' the teacher, and the rest of the class, with an incredibly detailed story about what took him so long _in the bathroom_. Let's just say, the teacher had had enough and got him to stop before it got too shnasty.

"What took you so long?" Randy questioned as Howard took his seat at the desk next to his.

"I had to put my plan into action," he replied with a wide smirk.

Randy frowned. _'Great. What's he gotten me into NOW?'_

Randy had asked what Howard had done, but he wouldn't say. He just repeatedly told him that he'd just have to wait.

So, he did. By lunch time, there was still no sign of whatever he was supposed to wait for. And still no monsters to fight, either. He wasn't sure which one frightened him more...

_'Maybe they're all taking an early spring break?'_ Randy wondered. The ninja hadn't showed up at the school since early last week. You'd think people would miss him by now.

Randy took his seat across from Howard at their table, quickly remarking,

"So, did your 'awesome plan' fail? Or is it just taking longer than you thought to work?"

Howard rolled his eyes,

"I know it'll work, Cunningham," he told him. "In case you forgot, _I'm_ the expert here."

Randy poked at his food, nodding his head. Howard only knew more about this stuff because he had an older sister who's been with every popular guy she's ever seen. (Granted, Howard could say that, but if _he_ ever did, he'd get a kick to the shin for it.) But what could Howard possibly know from just having a sister who dates a lot of guys? Randy doubted he knew anything that didn't come from those cheesy rom-coms Howard kept under his bed.

"Hello, Norrisville High!" A voice rang out from across the cafeteria. Randy glanced back over his shoulder to see Heidi's face on the two flat-screens by the exit.

_'Well, she must have finally found something to talk about...'_ He thought, turning back to his tray.

"Turns out a local freshman has gotten a little love interest lately. Sources say, one mister Randy Cunningham has a secret admirer—"

"Ha, that's Randy!"

Randy glanced back again, only to find a bunch of people staring at him.

'_Oh, come on,'_ he cringed, '_What'd I do now?'_

He couldn't tell what Heidi said next, but an eruption of laughter in his direction made his whole face go red.

"Howard!" He scowled back at his best friend, "What the juice, man?! You told your _sister_?"

Howard's smirk instantly disappeared as he glanced to the left, avoiding eye contact.

"What? _No_! Of course not! Why would I do that?"

Randy facepalmed. _'_This _is what Howard was up to? Seriously?'_

"Oh, come on," Howard remarked, "Heidi knows _everything_. She would've found out eventually anyway! Besides, if anyone could figure out who your secret admirer is, it's _her_!"

Randy stood up, ignoring the now-echoing laughter from around him.

"Howard," he slammed his hand down on the table. "Did it ever occur to you that I DON'T ACTUALLY CARE WHO WROTE IT?!"

Howard glanced around,

"Well, then, why'd you ask for my help?"

Randy stood back up and sighed in annoyance.

"We had nothing _better_ to do yesterday. I thought it'd be less annoying than failing as your wingman at the pier, okay?"

Howard shot him a look,

"You really didn't want to know?"

Randy covered his face with his hands,

"I thought we would just agree it was someone pulling a prank and be done with it already!"

Howard looked away, only to see the rest of the students staring at the two of them. Julian spoke up, asking,

"Err, is there anyth-"

Randy immediately cut him off.

"No," he retorted. "That is the _last_ thing I need right now."

He shot a glare at Howard before stomping away, hearing a couple of the kids at the table snickering behind him.

_'Howard is such a blabbermouth! I never should have even told him what was on that stupid note...'_

Randy opened the doors from the cafeteria and walked down the hallway to his locker. What was he supposed to do now? He knows Heidi too well to know she'd never give up something like this, especially with how barren her blog had been since the beginning of the week...

Randy sighed and stopped before reaching his locker.

"I might as well _try_..." He told himself. Maybe she'd help him out this one time?

* * *

"Oh, hello, Rrrrandy."

He felt his eye twitch. When was the last time she actually got his name right? And why was she so happy to see him, anyway.

Heidi spun around in her chair, mic and tablet at the ready.

"Is there something I can do for you?" She asked sweetly.

Randy held down the nausea coming to him.

_'Just focus on why I'm here, and make it fast,'_ he reminded himself.

"I just had a...favor to ask."

Heidi waved him off almost instantly, saying,

"Oh, don't worry about that. Howard already asked me to find out who sent you the note. My computer's running an analysis of the handwriting to every signature in my yearbook from last year. I should know by the end of the day," she told him, seemingly all in one breath.

Randy rubbed his arm, glancing down at his shoes,

"Actually, I wanted to ask if you could forget about the whole 'secret admirer' thing. I don't really wanna know who it is," he explained. "Howard only told you because he thought it'd help, but..." He paused. What should he say?

"We-uhh, that is me and Howard, decided it was some joke. You know, a harmless prank that someone pulled to get a good laugh? So, you know, it's no big deal."

When he looked back at Heidi, he found her holding her little, pink microphone in his face, and he pushed it away.

"What are you doing?"

Heidi reattached her mic and nonchalantly sank back in her spinning chair.

"Oh, you _poor thing_," she cooed. "No one as cute as you should be tortured like that."

Randy's eye twitched.

"Could you, maybe, _stop_ talking like that?" He muttered, "It's really starting to freak me out… it was better when you hated me and didn't know my name."

"Tell you what," Heidi told him, her voice still obnoxious, "I'll continue searching for who sent you this note, and when I find them, I'll make a big announcement on the blog about who it is and force them to apologize to you!"

Randy facepalmed for the third time that day.

"That," he groaned, "would be _worse _than what you're doing already!"

Heidi waved him off with her hand,

"Don't be silly. I know what I'm doing. You have nothing to worry about..." She paused and squinted at him, "uhh..._Randy_! Randy."

She turned back in her chair, mumbling,

"I'll remember that."

Randy sighed. So much for that. All he did was make it worse.

_'But, hey,'_ he thought, _'it can't possibly get any WORSE than this, right?'_


	3. Chapter 3: Girls Gone Wild

**Chapter Three: Girls Gone Wild  
Word Count: 1,074  
Warnings: Some Language, Implied Violent Fight Scenes**

**—**

Turns out, Randy was wrong. Very wrong, in fact, because ever since he had talked to Heidi, he had had the absolute worst day ever.  
Set aside the snickering that existed everywhere he went, Heidi apparently found it necessary to make him look like a shoob to everyone in the entire school. While he wasn't around to see what she'd done, he certainly saw the aftermath.  
"Hey, Randy."  
"Hi, Randy!"  
"Whatcha doin', Randy?"

He just wanted to find the closest brick wall and permanently connect his forehead to it.  
"Just what kind of teenager _are_ you?" Howard grunted, tilting his chair back on two legs. "You're supposed to_ enjoy_ the attention."  
Randy peered up just to glare at his best friend. He had pretty much made up his mind that Howard was the most unhelpful person on the planet, and nothing Howard did was disproving this in the least bit.  
Wobbling a bit before clutching onto his desk, Howard smirked at him,  
"If it were _me_," he told him, "I'd be takin' advantage of all this, buddy."  
Randy sat up, which only caused more vague whispering around him.  
"Maybe you should start listening when I say I don't care," he grumbled. Howard just made a face and continued to tilt back in his chair.  
Randy rolled his eyes,  
"You know, you're gonna fall over if you keep doing that," he stated bluntly. Howard ignored him, but quickly flew backwards, crashing to the ground with a resounding thud. Everyone turned back to look at him, including their study hall teacher.

"I meant to do that," Howard gasped out. Randy got up, grabbing his friend's arm and pulling him back up on his feet.  
"Sure, you did."  
"Oh, wow, Randy, you're so helpful!"  
Randy glanced back to see at least four girls behind him, watching with big eyes as he let go of Howard's arm.  
"You're so caring!"  
"That's so sweet of you!"  
Randy tried to interject, but was cut off by the teacher.  
"That's enough, ladies!" She bellowed, "Get back to work!"  
Randy sighed.  
_'Well, at least the teachers can be helpful,'_ he thought, sitting back down.  
Howard picked up his chair, sitting back down, only to start tilting it back again.  
"If you don't care, why do you keep complaining about everything?" He asked. Randy set his head in his palm,  
"I'm not complaining," he muttered. "Who said I was complaining?"  
Howard just stared at him, waiting for a real answer.  
"I just wanted some help but then everything just went to Hell and I have no idea how to fix it!" He told him, annoyed.  
"Well, why don't you just do what you always do when you're stuck?" Howard suggested, "Pull out the Nomicon and let it solve your problems for you?"  
Randy groaned,  
"First of all, that's not how it works. And second," he looked forward again, "I doubt it has anything to say about getting girls to stop flirting with me for no reason!"  
A chorus of giggles behind made Randy cringe as he glared back at Howard, who smirked and said,  
"If you would just _enjoy_ it, it wouldn't be a problem."  
Randy just let his head hit his desk again.  
A rumbling noise caused him to sit up suddenly, glancing around for the source. A muffled roar followed, and that was Randy's cue. It had been a few days, but he darted to the back of the room while the other students rushed to the windows to see what was going on. Just as he pulled out his mask, he felt someone tug on his free hand. It was the blonde girl from a little while ago.  
"Hey, Randy, come look—"  
"Uhh, actually, I gotta—"  
"Yeah, come on," another girl said, "you can stand next to me—"  
Randy grimaced, hearing another, much louder roar from outside.  
"I seriously don't have time for this," he grumbled, and swiftly ran out to the hall and into the closest bathroom.  
Pulling out the mask and putting it on, Randy (finally) got to action.  
"Smokebomb!"  
It looked like some kind of obnoxious robot. Probably another McFist contraption to deal with.  
_'Lovely.'_  
—

After taking out the first three, he started to notice the pattern here. Knock one down, and out comes another. This was SO not his day. After about the twentieth one was knocked down and sparking, he turned around, already expecting the next attack, but nothing happened.  
"Now, _that's_ what I 'm talking about!" He shouted, glancing back at the pile of destructed robots in front of him.  
_'Yep, that's right,'_ he internally bragged, _'I did that!'  
_—  
With a grin on his face, Randy met back up with Howard in the hall. They fist-bumped when Howard told him he covered for him when the teacher did a headcount during the robo-battle he was dealing with, and they made their way to their next class. Just one more class until the day was over.  
They walked into their History class, another Driscoll period, and took their seats. Hopefully, the lack of girls in this class would keep things at bay and then everything would cool down by tomorrow.  
Again, Randy found out the hard way that he was wrong. Very wrong. Apparently, Julie, the blonde girl from study hall, was already dating a jock in his History class. Once he got his buddies to help, let's just say… Howard was still the most unhelpful person in the world.  
Once class was finally over, Howard and Randy trudged back to their lockers.  
"I don't think I can take this much longer," Randy admitted. It was ridiculous to think otherwise. These stupid girls were getting in the way of his Ninja duties, their accursed boyfriends wanted him dead, and once Heidi found out who wrote the fake love letter, she was going to tell everyone. He refused to hope that things could get any worse, merely in hopes that it won't actually become worse.  
**—**

**A/N: Before you ask why study hall is in the middle of the school day, just let me note that my high school did this my freshmen year before changing it to the end of the day the next year. I just assume that Norrisville High has issues schedule-wise, and they may not have been addressed just yet.**


	4. Chapter 4: Chill Pill

**Chapter Four: Chill Pill  
Word Count: 683  
Warnings: Randy Being a Jerk (that's about it)**

* * *

The next day wasn't much better, but it was a little, and Randy was thankful for that much. The girls were still obnoxious, but there were less of them following him around. Howard actually had to be used as a shield so he could get away from the girls and get his ninja suit out. The guys didn't back down any from the day before, but he subtly used a ninja move or two to avoid most of that, and, by the end of the day, he had a ringing in his ears, and a permanent frown, but he was still feeling better than yesterday.  
_'Okay, maybe that's a lie,'_ he thought, _'but if I can trick myself into believing it, it could be true…'_

* * *

"I don't see what you're so mad about," Howard grumbled, sliding his backpack off and dumping its contents into his locker. "I mean, if I was you—"  
"But you're _not_, are you, Howard?" Randy glared down at him. "You're not me, so you don't know how I feel about all this, and yet you still continue to act like everything is just peachy! _Which it's not_!"  
Howard frowned,  
"Cunningham, you need to take a _chill pill_," he told him. "If you don't stop freakin' out and start chillin' out, your head's gonna explode or something! Just calm down—"  
"I _AM_ CALM!" Randy shouted back. After, he blinked. Howard had a point there, too. If he just got worked up about this, it would only get worse. He just needed to chill out and clear his head.  
_'Yeah, like that'll be easy…'_ He internally groaned.  
"Would you be willing to give up Ultra-Midweek-Game Night so I could go home and _try_ to chill out?" He asked sorely.  
Howard looked appalled,  
"What?!" He cried, "Y-you can't bail on Ultra-Midweek-Game Night!" He grabbed Cunningham by the arms, pulling him down to eye-level.  
"Video games are the perfect cure for this, Cunningham."  
Randy rolled his eyes, but winced when he did. What he _really_ needed right now was some ibuprofen and a cold soda. He didn't think playing Grave Punchers and listening to Howard ramble on about stupid junk at a loud level was the greatest way to relieve his headache.  
He shrugged away from his best friend,  
"Sorry, buddy. You'll just have to find something else to do for tonight."  
Howard grumbled, pulling his now-empty bag over his shoulder and walking away.  
_'Well, that went well,'_ Randy thought.

* * *

"Is there anything that'll fix this? Even something that could help just a _little_?" Randy asked. He stared down at the book on the floor. The Nomicon had nothing for him, just like he'd guessed.  
"Like, maybe…I don't know," he continued, "some kind of simple riddle that tells me how to make everyone stop treating me like a complete shoob?"  
Still nothing.  
"Aaauuuggghhhhh!" He cried out, falling back onto the floor. "I give up! What's the point anymore?!"  
A ringing went off in his ear, but when he glanced over, he realized it was his phone. He sighed, picking it up.  
"Hey, buddy, just wanted to let you know…" Howard started, pausing to listen to someone in the background. "_Yeah, yeah, I got it._ So, Heidi says she couldn't find a match for the note from her yearbook, or something. She said that it must be another freshman, so she'll try to find out by tomorrow."  
Randy groaned,  
"Could you _try_ explaining to her that I really don't care who wrote it?"  
Howard laughed,  
"Yeah, right! Like she'd actually listen to ME!"  
"Ugghhhh…"

Howard sighed,

"Dude, you'll find out tomorrow and then this mess'll be over. Just think about that."

"Oh, right," Randy remarked sarcastically, "I completely forgot that I can just bypass the confrontation with this person and pretend your sister didn't make a huge, honkin' deal out of it!"

He pulled his hand down his face. He didn't want to know this person, and he didn't want to deal with them, regardless of their intentions. He'd had enough.


	5. Chapter 5: Secret's Out

**SA Chapter Five: Secret's Out  
Word Count: 983**  
**Warnings: None this Chapter**

* * *

"Well, it looks like you're in the clear, Cunningham," Howard remarked. "You COULD have at least TRIED to take advantage of the situation while it lasted, but now all you've got is nothin'. Real smooth, buddy. _Real_smooth."  
Randy rolled his eyes. He had to do his best to hide the fact that his invisibility in school starting to return was actually the best news he'd heard all week. Howard could gripe all he wanted, but Randy was as happy as he could be right now.  
"It's like you don't even _care_," Howard continued, crossing his arms over his chest with a pointed look.  
Randy stopped at his locker and turned back to Howard,  
"That's what I've been saying this whole time, Howard," he remarked.  
Turning back around to open his locker, his mood instantly dropped when he noticed another folded paper stuck to the inside of his locker door.  
"Oh, come on—" he ripped it off the door, wanting to just throw it away right then.  
"Ha!" Howard said, "I _told _you they always leave another note!"  
Randy opened it, scanning the long note with a bored expression.  
'If this is still a prank, they must have been…fueled by Heidi's stupid gossip—'  
He stopped, a word catching his eye.  
"Oh, no…"  
Howard looked over,  
"What is it?"  
Randy read it over again.  
"Oh, no…this is bad."  
Howard grabbed the paper out of his hands,  
"WHAT IS IT?"  
He glanced over the letter,  
"Wait—THEY KNOW YOU'RE THE NI—"  
Randy slapped a hand over Howard's mouth.  
"SHH!" He glared at him, "We need to find out who this person is _right now_."  
"Mmpph mpph mmmpmph," Howard told him.  
"Uhh," Randy let go, "What?"  
"I _said_," Howard breathed, "Let's go check with Heidi! She's gotta know who it is by now."  
"But you said she was still looking this morning," Randy replied.  
Howard shoved the paper back at Randy,  
"We gotta at least try," he told him, turning around and heading down the hallway. Randy slammed his locker closed and ran after him.

* * *

Heidi was at her station, as usual just before lunch break. Typing away about gossip, she hardly noticed the two, panicky boys enter.  
Hearing her brother's obnoxious breathing, she peered over the top of her laptop,  
"What do you want _now_, Howard?"  
Randy moved around his best friend to walk up to her desk,  
"We wanted to check on the progress you were making…" He paused and glanced back at Howard. "You know, on who wrote that letter?"  
Heidi looked up at him with a blank expression for a moment, before going back to her computer.  
"Right, right. I set it to check for a handwriting match from those tacky, paper handbooks you guys had in middle school."  
"You do realize _you_ were in middle school only two years ago yourself, right?"  
Heidi glared over at her brother,  
"Excuse you," she snarled, "it was _three_ years ago!"  
Randy sighed,  
"Look, how much longer do you think it will take to find—"  
A loud DING rang out from the laptop, and Heidi looked over, smiling triumphantly.  
"Randy," she told him, "I believe I have found your secret admirer."

* * *

"Are you serious?"

"It can't be."  
"No way!"  
Heidi printed out the sheet of paper and picked up the old love letter from earlier last week.  
"Read it and weep, boys," she handed the papers to Randy. "Julian's your mystery writer."  
"You've _got_ to be kidding me."  
Howard was halfway between frozen in shock and falling over from laughing too hard. Randy rolled his eyes,  
"I told you this was just some prank."  
Howard glanced up, grimacing a bit,  
"I wouldn't be so sure. Julian's a bit of a freak, so, you never know."  
"I would never agree with my brother on anything, but… he's right, Randy. You _don't_ know."  
Heidi picked up her tablet and walked around her desk.  
"Well?" She grinned, "Let's go find out why you got this secret confession of love in the first place, shall we?"  
Urging the two boys out of her office, she flipped the lights off and shut the door behind them.

* * *

Finding Julian was simple enough, but explaining the situation it had started to cause was becoming even more of an issue. The first step was to lure him away from his table and into the abandoned hallway by the science lab. No one would be there during lunch, right?  
The next step was to tell him what was going on. Now, this would be fun…  
"Oh, of course," Julian cried out, "I knew it would come back to haunt me eventually."  
Randy sighed,  
"Can I at least ask why?"  
"Oh, please don't think it was serious, Randy." Julian continued, "It was simply a dare. Theresa may seem like goody-two-shoes, but she's a powerful player in our games."  
"So, it _was_ a joke?" Randy smirked, "Told ya, Howard! And now you owe me!"  
"I don't owe you nothin', Cunningham! We never shook on it, and you know it!"  
Randy rolled his eyes before turning back to Julian with a serious tone as he asked,  
"So, about the second letter today—"

"What second letter?" Julian asked, confused.

Randy glanced back at Howard before turning again to Julian,

"Didn't you write two letters, and leave them in my locker?"

Julian shook his head,

"I only wrote one. I had no hand in anyone continuing the charade."

Randy pulled out the second note from his pocket and glanced back at the first one from last week. The handwriting wasn't the same. Somebody at the school knew about his secret identity, and it wasn't Julian.

Randy frowned. _'If Julian didn't write the second note, then who DID?' He thought, 'And how do they know I'm the Ninja?'_


End file.
